Lives Changed: At the Reception
The park was perfect that day, with a slight breeze that made the lake ripple and cast a nice current that kept the heat at bay.
Jack Landors loosened his tie and sat down at one of the several adjoining tables that had been set up for the reception. Sky Tate followed him and noticed that he wasn't as happy as he should be.
"Can I ask what's wrong?" Sky asked, realizing that at the moment he outranked Jack at SPD and could probably force it out of him if he was so inclined.
"Ally," he said.
"Is she okay?" Sky asked, helping himself to an apple.
"Yeah, man, she's fine, I just miss her already."
"She must be one hell of a girl for you to up and leave us like that, Jack. I couldn't believe it when you gave Doggie your resignation."
"Sorry I did that, but it was important for me to do what I thought I could do best."
"I understand why you did it. Z doesn't quite understand, but the rest of us do. One thing I don't understand is why you haven't bothered keeping in touch these last few years. We see you once or twice in six months."
"You're not exactly an easy man to find, Sky."
"I'm there most of the time, but Bridge says you never call, you never come over, and well, frankly, we feel a little abandoned."
"I don't really belong there anymore, do you understand that?"
"Not really."
"When I walked out that door I told myself I wasn't a part of SPD anymore. I told myself I couldn't ride the fence, Sky, and I know I can't."
"Once a ranger..."
"Always a ranger? I don't know about that. If you decided to leave SPD its not like they'd give you your job back." Jack's facial expression turned from one of contemplation to one confusion and doubt as quickly as Sky blinked.
"If I wanted to take some time for myself and come back, I know they wouldn't turn me away. You should know that too. That's why you're here with us, Jack."
"I was such an ass to you, we never really got along that well, why are you trying to be friendly?"
"Because it's the right thing to do, Jack. And, to be honest, I do miss seeing you around." Sky sat back against the metal chair. "Don't tell me you don't miss it too."
"Sometimes I do. But I have obligations to my family."
"I wasn't aware you had a family."
"Ally."
"So, what is it about Ally? Are you going to marry her?"
"Honestly, I don't know."
"Jack, you've been dating her for four years. Don't you think that's long enough to know if you want that or not?"
"Look at the wedding we just attended, those two have been an item for way too long."
"This isn't about Tommy and Kim, this is about you. What do you want, Jack?"
"Sky?"
"Yeah?"
"Ally's pregnant."
Schuyler looked up. "Say what?"
Jack stuffed a handful of peanuts in his mouth.
"Man, why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I feel trapped, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"Are you upset about it?"
"Honestly, I have no idea how I feel."
Sky put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Is she happy about it?"
"She's already built the nursery, so yeah, I guess."
"How far is she?"
"Six months."
"See what I mean about lack of communication?"
"Uhum."
"It will be okay, Jack. If you love her, it will be okay."
"Thanks Sky," Jack said, putting on a happier face. "I guess all I needed was someone to reinforce that idea. Look, and again, I'm sorry I'm such a jerk. You don't deserve it."
Sky watched Jack walk away toward Z and Bridge. He wasn't quite sure what to think.
"Everyone gather 'round!" Jason called. "I want to propose a toast to the bride and groom!"
The mass of bodies made their way toward the tables and sat down.
"This is to Tommy and Kim, the biggest procrastinators in the whole wide world. We all know that this wedding could have happened a long time ago. Let this be a lesson to others, if you love a guy, don't write him a Dear John letter senior year, because it's really gonna suck thinking it's over for the next ten years when it never really was."
"Amen!" Tanya yelled.
Adam smiled at her boisterousness and stood up to propose his own toast. "I'd like to say congratulations to Tommy and Kim for making it here. I know that making things work out a second time isn't easy, and you guys are really an inspiration to all of us."
"I'd like to toast to Tommy and Kim for being great friends all these years, and to Tommy for telling me I could get back out there and do what I love even after I hurt my back, because otherwise I might not be here today, laughing and enjoying life with all of you." Rocky stood up and gave Tommy and Kim both hugs.
"Congrats to Tommy and Kim for making it to their reception in one piece," Aisha toasted.
"Congratulations!" the guests toasted in unison.
Kim took the knife and cut the cake with Tommy, and within the next couple of hours it was completely devoured except for the blown glass figurines of a crane and a falcon that they'd bought for nostalgia.
"Why'd you come back, Nick?" Madison asked. "Why now?"
"I came back because it's the right thing to do."
"Like walking away was the right thing, Nick. I loved you, and it wasn't enough to make you stay. You gave me your blanket, so I must have meant something to you. Why didn't you trust in me enough to help you get through it?"
"I don't know, Madison, okay?" he turned on her. "Please, lets not make another scene."
"I'm not making a scene, Nick. I need to know why you're so afraid to look me in the eye and tell me that there was nothing to our relationship, because if you do, I swear I'll let it go. You won't have to explain anything else to me."
"No, Madison."
"No, what?"
"No, I don't have any feelings for you other than that of a friend."
"Then why don't I believe you?"
"Because you don't want to believe me."
"Hey, you two coming over? They're going to start games soon," Chip asked, realizing that they both needed someone to break the ice threatening to encompass both of them.
"In a minute," Madison said quickly.
"Kiss me, Nick, and then I'll know if you mean what you say. Kiss me like a friend or like a lover."
"I'm not going to kiss you, Maddie. We're at a wedding, we need to focus on the couple who actually matters here." His eyes were flaring in that way that Madison hated so much. His temper was reaching his magic again.
"Nick, you matter to me, and I see in your eyes that you are still suffering even after all this time. You call on the phone to tell us you're okay, but I know you're not. I miss you. You were supposed to go off with Leanbow and Udonna to find yourself, find a way to mix the two halves of your life, but I don't see that it happened."
"Maybe I did find the end I wanted, Maddie. Maybe this is exactly what I wanted, closure." His words came out like poison, the same sort of thickness that his motorcycle exhaust had been the moment he'd left Briarwood behind.
She turned away, looked at the lake. She knew that the hole in her heart was bigger than the pool of water. "You told me you'd come back, that Briarwood mattered to you. Sometime between that day you left with your parents, and today, that changed. I want to know when I lost you, Nick."
"Maybe we don't all have the mystic fate we thought we did, Madison." He walked away, joining Xander in a game of limbo. Limbo, that's where she felt like she existed.
"Hey, don't you think you ought to give Nick some time to realize how much he really misses this?" Vida came over and wrapped her arms around Madison's shoulders.
"It isn't like that, Vee. I can't give him any more time. He's had forever to explain what he found out there in that world that means more to him than what we built up in Briarwood. I don't know how much longer I can hold on."
"Maybe for today you shouldn't."
"I thought you were DJ for this thing."
"I am, but I'm your sister first. Don't let Nick ruin this for you."
Madison nodded. "Let's go." She accepted Vida's hand and told herself that she would try to make the day one that she would remember for being happy.
"You came," Billy told Cestria. "For a long time, I was absolutely certain that you wouldn't."
"It matters to you, doesn't it, Billy?" she said quietly. "Having me here matters to you?"
"Yes."
"Then that is why I am here."
"For how long?"
"Until you decide to leave."
Billy sat down on the grass beside her, stroked her bare leg. "What made you change your mind?"
"Aurico told me that you were irritated with me when you left. I believe he told me that the word 'divorce' was running through your mind. I don't want that, Billy."
Billy nodded. He didn't want it either, but the life on Aquitar that had once been invigorating and new, was now bothersome. He was separated from the world he was born to love. He was away from his family for too long. "I don't want that either, but I want you to understand how much I've given of myself staying in Aquitar for all those years. I need to be with my own kind too."
"All the water in the Eternal Falls cannot quench your thirst for this place."
"No."
"Then, we shall stay here, Billy." She looked over at Tommy and Kim and all Billy's other friends. "It's time Aquitar sacrificed a little for you."
"...and then from Paris we went to Stockholm, and Moscow, and Berlin, and Sydney, and we visited family in Columbia..."
"That sounds like fun," Dana said, listening intently to Danny and Max as they divulged the details of their wonderful world tour.
Ryan handed his sister a glass of champagne and sat down to listen to their muddled stories of past exploits. "Dad called," he told Dana. "Sounds like it's peaceful in Mariner Bay, so you and Carter can rest easy."
"Good doctors don't rest easy, Ryan," she took a stir stick and played with the ice in her glass.
"....so there was this famous actor there..."
"Why don't you go ask for a dance?" Ryan asked.
"Hum?" Dana said quizzically.
"Go dance with someone."
"Yeah, Dana," Kelsey said happily. "Get you groove on."
"Uh, I think I'll pass, thanks Kels." She turned back to Danny and Max, who were continuing their rant for whomever would listen.
"Well, I'm stealing your brother, so enjoy yourself." Kelsey took Ryan's hand and they went off to dance the Bunny Hop.
"...so you said you're a doctor....Dana?"
Danny was actually talking to her for a change.
"Oh, yeah. I work with kids mostly at my own clinic in Mariner Bay."
"That's handy; you're a ranger, and a doctor."
"Guess so," she said humbly.
"So, are you dating Carter?" Max asked.
Dana shrugged. "Not officially, we're just close friends."
"I heard your dad saved his life when he was a little boy."
"He used to be a firefighter, until the accident."
"You don't talk much," Max noticed.
"You guys just don't shut up," Taylor observed, grabbing a sandwich from the buffet.
Dana smiled up at Taylor.
"Can't you guys tell you're annoying her?"
"It's fine, Taylor, really, I'm just a little worn out."
Taylor didn't seem like she believed her. "Let me know if you need a bailout."
Dana seemed to think about it for a moment. "I think I'll follow you."
Kendall looked up, somewhat dismayed that she was being left alone with her boyfriend and his immaturity that came along with Max's presence.
"Max, get your butt up and come with us," Taylor turned and offered Max her hand. "I have a girl for you to dance with."
Danny smirked and went back to eating. Kendall seemed relieved that Max was gone, this wasn't lost to Danny. "You know, all you have to do is tell me I'm annoying you."
She looked up, clearly taken aback. "Danny..."
"Look, I don't see these guys much, so I take what fun I can get. If that bothers you, maybe you should leave."
"No, Danny, it's fine, really. It's just a part of who you are, I realize that."
"Humpf, sure you do." He pulled his chair back. "I'm gonna go visit, if you want to come I'm sure I can make the conversation about you."
Kendall didn't have a rebuttal. "Sorry, I'm just feeling like a fish out of water, maybe I'll go back to the motel for a while and watch movies."
"If that's what makes you happy," Danny told her. "I'll see you tonight, Kendall. But don't feel like you have to go."
She shook her head. "I do."
"That was a great way to treat your girlfriend, whom you've been oodling over for years and finally got to come to something with you," Alyssa remarked.
"She didn't appreciate the monumentality of our greatness on this day."
"You mean she didn't want to put up with being seen in public with you?"
"Yeah, basically."
"I think you need to stop here from walking away, right now, Danny Boy."
"You're probably right." He dropped his bag of chips in Alyssa's outstretched hand and broke off at a run.